Rating: 
Summary: Pleasantly Surprised
Review: After reading some mixed reviews I was skeptical, but I wanted the product and no other had as many features. Besides, I figure you get what you pay for and this was the most expensive of the bino/cameras.The bad news first: The item feels somewhat flimsy despite its 11/2 pounds. It's made of plastic; you wouldn't want to drop it. The flip-up LCD screen appears vulnerable on its lightweight hinged base. This base rubs on an internal cable, which may wear, causing future problems. The battery cover fits so loosely I have to hold it in place with a rubber band or the camera turns off. The good news: Most of the plastic (except the battery cover) is heavy duty. The LCD screen can be left down most of the time so it's out of harm's way. You can't see it in bright light anyway and it's only needed for the initial setup and to view pictures. Power is readily maintained with the application of a rubber band to hold the battery cover in place. The binoculars are great. The 2MP images are excellent to my non-professional eye and accurately duplicate the view seen through the binoculars. Resolution is even sufficient for further magnification with photo software. The menu and controls are user friendly. One of the best features is the internal
flash menory, which retains images even if the batteries fail, and the SD slot for expandability. Plug n' play means no potentially faulty external drivers. The device is recognized as a hard drive and images can be opened in any photo app.. I'm satisfied. It's a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: Head and Sholders better than CaptureView compact 640x480
Review: At least this is the real thing! I purchase the previous Capture View compact from Mead for $$$$....I was so disappointed because its picture quality was little better than a toy. It could not handle low light and the resolution was that of a Barbie Camera (Mattel)! Still I fell in love with the concept of a marriage between the digital camera and the Binocular. I felt that I was taking a real chance here on buying this product, but I figured that with 2MP (Which ...by the way there is a setting for 3MP) it had to be better hten the first CaptureView. I was right (Thank God!) This Digital Binocular really works and with acceptable quality.
I also have a Coolpix 4500, so I figured I would compare how the coolpix 4500 at full digital zoom and the Meade binoculars compared. I focused on a subject of a construction site far on the horizon (Must be a few miles away). As far as Magnification, both the CoolPix 4500 and the Binoculars are about tied. ( So maybe a camera is more versitile in most cases.) But the coolpix pictures at full digital zoom could not stand up to the clarity of the Binoculars picture.
The Binoculars arrived with some smudges on the plastic body casing (Looks like grease, which I had to clean off), There was also a minor scratch on the plastic, but still not worth sending back and complaining since this is not a gift and all I care about is functionality. The body is kind of cheap in appearance but this one has a lot more functionality than the other binocular combos I have seen. One comment though....WHERE ARE THE LENS CAPS??? Geez, you make a quality lens for a binocular and don't include a $ .. lens cap for it....it just does not make sense.
I am satisfied with this product, although I believe that the Digital Binocular is still in its young days, and will improve greatly in the next few years.
I think ypur option to buy this product depends on what you wish to do with it....For taking pictures of objects within a 300ft range, stick with your camera. To get fair to good quality shots at a great distance, this is the ticket. I have not tried making a 90 second AVI movie yet...I'll do that when the weather clears, but I have tried shooting in low light. Since there is no shuttle control, you will not be able to do any astrophotography with this unit ( a bright moon appears washed out...) but it can do low light situations. I could not hold it steady enough to do Mars, although it did show up looking quiet like a bright star in the pic ( Just with a trail since my hand is unsteady..) HINT: The next version needs a tripod mounting screw....
In summary this is a little expensive at $$$$ I think I would like to pay about $$$$ for it. I also feel that the casing could be stronger and a camera is more versitle (Third-party vendors make a zoom lens for the coolpix...I could have gone for that...but I love new technologies so I gave this a try.)
I give this Capture View Binoculars four stars because it meets my expectations of what it should be able to do.
Rating: 
Summary: not so great
Review: Binoculars work great, but not camera. I recently bought this for a sporting event which was indoors and pictures were mostly too dark to see anything, unfortunately I must say outdoor pics were not that great either. Pics need to be taken with plenty of light and steady hands (in which case pics are okay but not for price paid). The software was pretty good (very minor glitches). The screen displays are easy to read and follow. I really liked the idea, but there needs to be more improvement.
Rating: 
Summary: Good design
Review: Finally! Somebody built binoculars with the ability to record full motion video. Very easy to use, the quality is great, ...!!
Rating:
Summary: Great for football fans!
Review: Get your own instant replay of every play! We added a 256MB SD card and were able to record, replay and save every interesting play in the game, great play or lousy call, I got them all. Very easy to use, high quality product. I was concerned that the unit might not work with my Windows 98 based system, but the included software had a DirectX upgrade that I installed that made my system compatible. The box said Windows 98SE or better was needed but my original Windows 98, not SE, works perfectly. Apparently, newer versions of Windows support the binoculars with no upgrades needed. Excellent still pictures too, but I love the instant replay capability. This new Meade digital binocular is the best digital binocular on the market.
Rating: 
Summary: 1.3MP version
Review: I bought the Meade CaptureView 8X42 1.3MP Digital Camera Binocular. The first one had software / hardware that hung up after 3 pictures, the second one had so many pixels missing from the screen it was unreadable, the third one wouldnt turn on and the black side flashing fell off on removal from the box.
A truely tatty product
Rating:
Summary: an expensive toy but only a toy
Review: I had high hopes of using this instead of taking a more expensive and bulky camera out to the field in dog field trial events. Pictures are blurry. Videos are blurry. Not user friendly. I am a professional photographer, and I hope that photos that I take will result in identifiable images, so that someone that was not there can tell what it is I photographed. The camera portion does not live up to any reasonable expectations, and, while the binoculars are quite good, the overall weight with the 'camera' make the combination too heavy.
Rating:
Summary: not what I thought
Review: I have only used these twice for a total of about 40 pictures. I am sure once I use them more the quality will improve. I was disappointed when I realized that what you see in the binocular is NOT what the picture will be. To frame the picture you must use the LCD screen, which is impossible to see in sunlight. I suggest getting either a good digital camera with high zoom or good binoculars not a combination, until this tecnology improves. The binoculars are very good by themselves.The camera is difficult to use.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly Surprised
Review: I just got my meade binoculars/digital camera. I believe the binoculars are excellent. The camera part can use some work, but for a product in its infancy, its kind of fun. I am still testing the camera part, but I do believe the price is a little high. The casing is plastic, but it appears to be pretty sturdy. It is also a bit heavier than my celestron binocular/digital camera (with no LCD). Overall, for a little fun and something new it is okay. DEFINITELY, NEEDS TRIPOD CAPABILITY, WHICH THIS ITEM DOES NOT HAVE. IF YOU ARE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING AN ITEM SUCH AS THIS AND YOU REALLY NEED IT FOR SERIOUS PIX TAKING I WOULD NOT BUY THIS ITEM UNTIL THE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES, BUT IF YOU WANT IT FOR FUN AND THE PRICE GOES DOWN A BIT, THEN GO FOR IT. I AM KEEPING MINE. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO ADVANCEMENT IN THIS FIELD.
Rating: 
Summary: It is okay.
Review: I just got my meade binoculars/digital camera. I believe the binoculars are excellent. The camera part can use some work, but for a product in its infancy, its kind of fun. I am still testing the camera part, but I do believe the price is a little high. The casing is plastic, but it appears to be pretty sturdy. It is also a bit heavier than my celestron binocular/digital camera (with no LCD). Overall, for a little fun and something new it is okay. DEFINITELY, NEEDS TRIPOD CAPABILITY, WHICH THIS ITEM DOES NOT HAVE. IF YOU ARE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING AN ITEM SUCH AS THIS AND YOU REALLY NEED IT FOR SERIOUS PIX TAKING I WOULD NOT BUY THIS ITEM UNTIL THE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES, BUT IF YOU WANT IT FOR FUN AND THE PRICE GOES DOWN A BIT, THEN GO FOR IT. I AM KEEPING MINE. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO ADVANCEMENT IN THIS FIELD.
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